The Man Who Was Poe

Edmund and Sis are alone. Their aunt has been gone for two days. Starving, Edmund goes to a local pub for food. Upon returning to his dreary Providence apartment, he finds that Sis is gone. Desperate, Edmund turns to anybody who can help. The only person who agrees to help is a stranger named Dupin. Who is Dupin? Can he be trusted? Where is Sis? Aunt? Read The Man Who Was Poe, by Avi to find out. I liked this book because it's a combination of a murder mystery and a horror. I also liked this book because, living in Rhode Island, I can relate to it, having been to many of the places mentioned in this book. If you like a good thrill, this is the book for you!

This book was great! I loved the way Edmund's sister left "breadcrumbs" like in Hansel and Gretel. It was an exciting mystery, with clues everywhere, if you knew where to look. I also liked how Avi combined fact and fiction, like how one of Poe's books had a detective called Dupin, and how Poe actually did have a drinking problem. It was very interesting.

The Man Who Was Poe is a historical mystery with Edgar Allan Poe as a character in this fictional novel by Avi. This novel might be classified as a puzzle mystery. The setting is early nineteenth-century Providence, Rhode Island. Edmund's mother is missing. His aunt went looking for her and now she's missing too. Edmund and his sister need food. Edmund goes out to get something for them to eat, but since Auntie told them not to leave, he locks Sis in the room; no one can get in, and Sis cannot get out. It's very important to Edmund to keep Sis safe. After helping an old man, Edmund goes back to the room, and now Sis has disappeared. This is the first puzzle. How could Sis have disappeared from a locked room when Edmund had the only key? Edmund gets help from Auguste Dupin who happens to really be Edgar Allan Poe. (Dupin is a character that Edgar Allan Poe created.) Dupin agrees to help Edmund if Edmund will deliver a message for him. Dupin (or is is really Poe) has his own issues and problems. He is a most difficult man to understand. As Dupin and Edmund form their uneasy alliance, they find that their lives are more entwined than either could imagine. Another puzzle catches the attention of Dupin. Gold bars are stolen from the bank vault that has been compared to a tomb. This was an impossible crime. The only way in was through a locked door; yet no one got in that way. Are the two locked room puzzles related? This is an excellent novel of murder, intrigue, danger, and suspense. As with all good mysteries, the reader discovers the clues along with Dupin and Edmund. Dupin and Edmund use their intelligence and keen observation as they seek the solution to the many mysteries contained in this novel. In the back of the book is a section called "Something About Edgar Allan Poe." Readers will find it helpful to read this before beginning the novel as aspects of Poe's life parallel the characters in the novel.

Edmund finally decided to go out for food after Aunty didn't come back for two days when she was looking for his mother. He locked Sis, his sister, in the room they rented so no one could come in. When he came back, Sis was gone. Full of despair, he went to a bar and met Mr. Dupin, a troubled drunk writer who thinks Edmund's problem would be a good story, and convinces him to help him. Mr. Dupin has a very good idea of what happened by paying attention to details that most people miss. It is a great mystery and historical fiction book. It is full of suspense so no one can put it down!